emma bugg CONCRETE JEWELLERY

On Making a Crown

25th March, 2014

After being provided with an image of a Dolce and Gabbana crown to inspire the design, I set about working out a way I could produce it. It's not every day you get a crown commission, so needless to say, there were challenges ahead. The part which would take the longest was piercing out the lacework with a jewellery saw. As there was a short amount of time to get this done with the deadline being a wedding day, there was no option to extension. I came up with an alternative method that would look as effective and have more sentiment than a pierced piece of metal.

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The solution was a piece of vintage handmade lace which made a perfect base. When I visited Sabrina Evans (Sabio design) she produced a fantastic piece that was the exact dimension required.

From here, I cut the lace to the dimension of position it would sit on on Kirsha's head, and stiffened it with 3 layers of diluted PVA glue. I stitched it up the back with fine thread, and posted it to Sydney to be cast in sterling silver.

Pieces were cut to shape, and soldered to form the peaks of the crown. Next came the bezel settings for the assorted stones ( zircon, Swarovski crystals, citrine, garnet and a Tasmanian sapphire). After the stones were set in place, the final steps were 24 kart gold plate and polishing details.

If you follow the order of the photos below, it will give you an idea of the making process.

Making the stone settings

I laid out the stones, comprising of citrine, zircon, quartz, repurposed stones from antique jewellery, and one sapphire (for the something blue tradition) and measured gallery wire around them to make a series of mini crowns in which to set the stones.